The Case for video

Why should you use video in your social media and online strategy? To be honest in my opinion there is no better way to establish and grow a relationship with a client than through talking with them. We value verbal communication in our society. We feel closest to the people we can see and talk to. Video allows a business to carry on a conversation with their customers in a that way emails, photos, and even phone calls cannot convey. Social Media is about connecting and video is a powerful tool any business can use.

The amount of money being spent on digital ads is set to eclipse the amount spent on traditional television ads this year according to some sources. Not only does viewership keep increasing on youtube year after year after year but now video is increasingly playing on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram and now even Pinterest. In fact rumors are rife that the Facebook algorithm (the thing that determines if you post is seen by people) is favoring more and more video content over other content. Just look at your personal feed to see if these rumors are true or not. Every study confirms over and over and over again that if you want the maximum impact from your posts and advertising dollars, then video is the way to go.

Now while social media gives you the freedom to use video or not, social media is different from traditional television in some very critical ways especially when it comes to video advertising. You need to keep these differences in mind when working with an advertising agency or video production company. Chief among them is the fact that social media is about community/entertainment while television is about information/entertainment. A lot of times people watch things on computers instead of just the TV and they may have the audio off. So grab them with amazing visuals. Encourage them to turn on the sound. Provide CC right in the video. Attention spans are even shorter online than they are on TV. You have 5-10 seconds on the long side to grab someone’s attention with an online video. After about 30 seconds you will either lose them or keep them depending on engaging content that they are seeking. And lastly, increasingly content is watched on smaller cell phone screen which means different visuals are better for online content than in traditional television. Since the screen is smaller you will want more medium and close up shots. Your text should be bigger and less per slide and other considerations.

What this means for you a business owner is sadly your television commercial will not be as effective online as a custom commercial designed specifically for online audiences. You need to find a company that understands the differences between traditional TV advertising and new online trends. Now this is not to say that a traditional advertising agency can’t give you what you need, but have you priced them recently? A company focused more on online advertising and marketing should be able to give you a better deal for at least a few more years, though with increasing prevalence of video online video fees will go up as agencies get busier. Supply and demand. But beyond price going with an agency that has experience online can be beneficial to you as they will know effectively how to use that video. Now we can get back to the case for video.

Why video? It is what your customers expect. These studies that show increase in video consumption online and on social media, some of that is driven by the increase in available video content, the majority is because people are watching more video. You can infer from this then that your clients and customers now expect video as part of your marketing and advertising strategy. If it is not there, you might still be able to win them over but that is an obstacle you will have to overcome. When it is so easy to get professional videos done for your business why would you still have this obstacle in your sales funnel?

Why video? It presents a consistent message. How many times a week are you asked what does your business do? How many hours do you spend composing emails, talking on the phone, or talking in person about your business and what makes it special? How would your effectiveness increase in sales if instead people email, call, or start off speaking to you saying, “Hey I saw your video, your business looks amazing! Tell me how can you help me specifically?” A video can answer all of your common, what do you do, what do you make, why are you different questions you constantly receive about your business. With a video you know your answers will be consistent. With a video you can now spend time fostering leads instead of introducing them to your business. And with a cool introductory video on your homepage you can now capture the attention of new customers and clients and start the conversation about your business before you even get there!

So why video? It is what your clients expect, it presents a consistent message, and it is effective. So why are you not using video? Do you need help coming up with a plan and strategy? Because if you do not have a plan no matter how many videos you create they will never be as effective as you want. Do you need help filming a video? Lets face it, sure you can do a selfie style video from your phone. But by and large what that says is I am cheap and going to do this on my own. Is that really the message you want to send your clients?

We are happy to answer any questions you have about video production here at AR Media. We are also happy to consult on any ideas that you want to run by us. Our door is always open contact@armedia.us. Hope to hear from you soon. Until then get out there and create a video for your business!